The inventive concept relates to an apparatus and a method for treating a substrate with a liquid.
In order to manufacture a semiconductor device, a desired pattern is formed on a substrate through various processes such as, photographing, etching, ashing, ion injection, and deposition of thin films. Various treatment liquids are used in the processes, and contaminants and particles are generated during the process. In order to solve this, a cleaning process for cleaning contaminants and particles is performed before and after the process.
In general, the cleaning process includes a liquid treating process and a drying process. In the liquid treating process, a treatment liquid is supplied onto the substrate, and in the drying process, the remained liquid on the substrate is removed. The liquid treating process includes an operation of chemical-treating a substrate and substituting the remained liquid on the substrate with an organic solvent. If the treated surface of the substrate is substituted by the organic solvent, a drying process for removing the organic solvent is performed.
The drying process is performed in a chamber that is different from that of the liquid treating process. Accordingly, the substrate, on which the liquid treating process has been performed, is transferred from the liquid treating chamber to the drying chamber. Then, when the organic solvent residing on the substrate is greater than a preset range, the organic solvent acts as particles, contaminating the peripheral devices. Unlike this, when the amount of the organic solvent is smaller than the preset range, a process defect is caused by a leaning phenomenon of a pattern.
Further, a volatile material is provided as a generally used organic solvent, and a portion of the organic solvent may be volatilized while the substrate is transferred.
Accordingly, in a process of setting up a substrate treating system, the weight of the substrate is measured such that the organic solvent residing on the substrate is within a preset range.
If the liquid treating process of the substrate is completed, the weight of the substrate is measured after the substrate is directly extracted from the substrate treating system by the operator, and is carried into the substrate treating system again.
However, the substrate treating system has different internal and external environments. Due to this, even when the weight of the substrate measured on the outside is within a preset range, the weight of the remained liquid may deviate from the preset range during an actual process.
Further, much time may be spent in a process of directly carrying the substrate into and out of the substrate treating system by the operator.
Further, the remained liquid may be volatilized while the operator extracts the substrate from the system, and thus the operator may be exposed to the remained liquid, which does harm to the human body.